Jeep Wrangler Investigation Expanded

U.S. safety regulators have expanded the investigation on the 23 complaints of fires in Jeep Wrangler SUVs.

Because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration couldn’t find out yet what caused the fires, it asks Chrysler to provide information on Wranglers from the 2007 through 2012 model years. the investigation began on March 28th and centered only on vehicles from the 2010 model year.

This investigation comes at a time when Chrysler was showing improvement and a remarkable comeback from its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring. The NHTSA declared that it had received 23 complaints about fires in Wranglers, which hurt four people and damaged two houses. The safety agency focuses its investigation on overheated transmission fluid and electrical wiring as possible causes. The agency should finish the investigation until May 22nd, but it may expand the deadline to include similar vehicles. There is also the possibility that this investigation will end with a recall.

Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne declared that the company is fully cooperating and that vehicle fires are complex and can occur for many reasons unrelated to the vehicle’s design and manufacture.

“Poor maintenance, improper vehicle use or installation of aftermarket equipment often are causes of vehicle fires,” he says.